I’ve taken a huge break from blogging, and it hasn’t really been for resting but because I’ve been so busy that I need more than 24 hours to complete all my activities. Many things have happened during the last month, like making up my mind on which foundation to get. As a matter of fact, I got 2: Nars Radiant Cream foundation in Punjab and Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer in Sand (this is my third attempt with LM over the years). I’ve also lost some inspiration on doing makeup looks, going towards the worst scenario for a beauty blogger: minimal makeup. However, a couple of events brought my inspiration to do makeup, and as a consequence blog: one of my beloved Friends from makeup alley posted pictures of Charlotte Tilbury’s Iconic looks, and I kind of fell for them mainly because they include color while resting ultra-wearable, and they are definitely more fun than my minimal makeup. The second event is that I finally had the opportunity to have an afternoon at home, hugging my furry friends while watching TV. I spent hours watching makeup videos, especially Charlotte Tilbury’s youtube channel. I loved, and really believed, her looks are as easy to do as in her vids and decided to give a try. The first one is the “Uptown Girl”, as in Billy Joel’s song:

Sorry for taking a pause for the musical moment, but I had to share the song. This is one of the songs that I remember from my English lessons as a kid. Teachers used songs to help us with pronunciation and fluency, so I ended up learning many songs from Queen, the Beatles and Billy Joel. As time passed by and I went to Junior High School, teachers were less fond of us learning through songs –I guess they thought Pearl Jam, Metallica, Aerosmith, Madonna and so on weren’t as good English teachers as Freddy Mercury. Anyway, Christy Brinkley looks fabulous in the video.

Anyway, back to makeup. At least most of the ones I’ve watched, Charlotte Tilbury’s looks are ultra-wearable. They aren’t excessively dramatic even when they use color, so you can still wear them for work days and feel you look polished. They are also quite simple and easy to achieve, and I believe that is the core of its wonder. As I’ve stated in other posts, I believe in parsimonious makeup. Even when I do enjoy editorial looks, I only do them for fun purposes. On a daily basis, I go for something simple but effective, and that doesn’t include the regular beige/brown combo –simple and effective doesn’t mean boring. Having written that, I’ve found the “Uptown Girl” look is exactly what I’m looking for: the technique is quite simple since you don’t need a thousand brushes and super blending skills to achieve it; I did it with a mauve shade, which stays in the neutral zone but it’s way more fun and flattering than brown; and it’s definitely effective since it makes you look effortlessly polished.

Here is my attempt, since her makeup line is not sold in Mexico, I looked for similar shades in my stash –which I highly recommend doing when loving a makeup look: shopping your stash to find similar shades instead of going mad and pulling the trigger to everything. I also adapted the look to my features, especially because the lip shade is way lighter than my natural lip shade, meaning I could look mouthless. So here is recommendation number two: whenever you like a look, use it as inspiration and adapt it to things you know work for you instead of trying to recreate it as if it was a clone.

On eyes, I used Skin79 come on cream eyeshadow as a base and Burberry Rosewood as the shade to add some depth. Eyeliner is Chanel Stylo Yeux Noir Intense, and I used Laura Mercier Ebony cake eyeliner to tightline. I used my regular mascara, Guerlain Le 2, and they layered Chanel Le Volume –I’m currently testing this combo, please let me know what you think of it. To compliment this look I used Nars Radiant Cream Foundation in Punjab, applied with a damp Beauty Blender for a thin layer; Laura Mercier Undercover Pot 4; Mac Mineralize Concealer NC50 and Nars Paloma for contouring; Chanel cream blush Affinité and Rouge Coco Shine Rendez-Vous.

I feel it looks more polished and way better than my regular minimal makeup look and it didn’t take me a lot more time to achieve. If you want to watch the tutorial, please click here –I think she’s clear enough for not needing further explanations. Even when I went for the closest shade I could find to what she used, I feel I might try the same placement with other shades to see how it works. I’ll keep you informed.

I’ve been a beauty junkie before beauty blogs became that popular. I’ve always loved HE makeup, since my mom gave me as a gift my first dior quint and gloss. Many friends and acquaintances asked me for makeup recommendations and sometimes even to do their makeup. So just one day, I decided to share my thoughts and experience by writing a blog.